Apparatus for flushing water-closets.



J. FLOCKHART. APPARATUS FOR FLUSHING WATER CLOSETS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24. I910.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

3 $HEETSSHEET 1- J. FLOCKHART.

APPARATUS FOR FLUSHING WATER CLOSETS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24. MIN. PatentedAug. 10, 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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J. FLOCKHART.

APPARATUS FOR FLUSHING WATER CLOSETS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24. 1910.

1,149,568. Patented Aug. 10,1915.

HEETS-SHEET 3.

wm/wtoz rnvrr JAMES FLOCKHART, 0F DENVER, COLORADO.

APPARATUS FOR FLUSHING WATER-CLOSETS.

Application filed May 24, 1910.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J AMES FLOCKHART, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Flushing vvatenClosets; and I do declare the following to be a full,.clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvementsin apparatus for flushing waterclosets Where low-down flush tanks are employed, my ob ject being to increase the length of the pipe through which the water discharges orwhat may be termed the long leg of the siphon.

' \Vith the high flush tanks no difliculty is, experienced in obtaining the necessary suction or siphonic action, since the water flows through a relatively long pipe from the high flush tank to the bowl of the closet. However, with the low tanks this advantage does not exist and great difficulty is often experienced in obtaining the necessary suction in order to produce good flushing results, and particularly is this true when starting the siphon.

In my present construction, the water enters the long leg of the siphon for starting purposes at a relatively high point within the tank, the entrance also being direct instead of at the side .of the pipe as in the usual forms of construction. Furthermore, the short leg or legs of the siphon are connected with a plunger which is lifted from a seat at the top formed in the long leg of the siphon, the plunger being hollow and forming a part of the said leg during the operation of siphoning the water out of the tank for flushing purposes. I prefer to employ two short siphon legs, both of which. are connected with the hollow plunger and deliver water thereto during the siphoning operation from opposite sides, thus giving better vacuum producing results than where the water enters from only one side. Furthermore, with my improved construction, I produce a perfectly balanced plunger by using two siphon legs, one connected with the hollow plunger on each side.

Having briefly outlined my improved con- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. to, was.

Serial No. 563,060.

struction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing, Figure 1 is a sectional view taken through a flush tank equipped with my improved construction which is shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the plunger raised for starting the siphonic action. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tank with the cap removed. Fig. 4 is a detail view of my improved construction, shown on a larger scale, the plunger being in the raised position for starting the siphon. Fig.5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the plunger seated.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all theviews.

Let the numeral '5 designate a low flush tank, the same being provided with an inlet pipe 6 controlled by a float 7 connected therewith in the usual manner. As my improved construction has nothing to do with this feature of the apparatus, the same will not be described in detail.

In the upper part of the tank is located a lever 7 fulcrumed at 8, one extremity thereof being'loosely connected as shown at 10 with a hollow plunger member 12; while the other extremity is connected with a rod 13 whose lower extremity projects below the bottom of the tank and is connected with a lever 14 pivoted at 15 and having an exposed end 16 for operating purposes. Vhen the extremity 16 of this lever is pushed downwardly, the lever 7 within the tank is actuated to lift the hollow plunger 12 to the position shown inFigs. 2 and 4t.

Connected with the hollow plunger member 12 on each side, is a short siphon leg 17, each of whichis open at its lower extremity and communicates with the upper part of the hollowplunger 12, the body member of each siphon pipe being connected by an elbow 18, the upper extremity of the elbow being threaded, as shown at 19, to a short nipple formed on the plunger. The lower extremity ofthe plunger is provided with a relatively thin guide sleeve 20fhaving openings 21 to allow the water to enter freely when the plunger is lifted sufiiciently for, the purpose. The lower portion of the body of the plunger is equipped with a rubber gasket 22 which rests on a shoulder 23 formed on the plunger, being held in place from above by a threaded sleeve 24. This gasket protrudes beyond the shoulder upon which it rests, and when the plunger is in its lowermost position, the gasket engages the outwardly flared upper extremity 25 of a bell-shaped member 26 forming the upper part of the long siphon leg, immediately below the plunger. This flared upper extremity of the leg, together with the bell shape of the member 26, causes the water as it enters the leg for starting purposes, to fill the entire cross sectional area of the pipe, since the water is thrown into sheets or spreads out in the pipe in such a manner that a relatively small quantity of water produces substantially the same effect that a solid stream of water in the pipe might otherwise produce. Furthermore, below the bell 26 the pipe is reduced in size as shown at 27, whereby as the water leaves the lower extremity of the bell it converges toward the center of the pipe member 27, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4. Furthermore, by connecting the short siphon legs 17 with the plunger member 12, the latter is given sufficient weight to cause it to seat quickly and positively after the starting lever 1 1 has been released by the operator.

From the foregoing description the use and operation of my improved flush tank mechanism will be readily understood. If it be assumed that the mechanism is in the position shown in Fig. 1, the flush tank having the requisite quantity of water as indicated, if it is desired to flush the closet (not shown) with which the tank is connected, the extremity 16 of the lever 14 is depressed, whereby the lever 7 is actuated to lift the plunger member 12 together with the short siphon legs 17 This outward movement of the plunger is suflicient to unseat the lower extremity of the latter from the upper outwardly flared extremity of the bell 26, allowing the water to enter the bell through the openings 21 of the plunger guide sleeve 20. This action takes place instantaneously or as soon as the plunger is lifted, and before the plunger can return by gravity to its seat, sufficient water has entered the hell or the upper portion of the long leg of the siphon, to start the siphon. It will be understood that the plunger returns automatically to its seat and the siphoning of the water out of the tank will continue through the short legs 17 until the water is lowered below the lower open extremities of the short siphon legs.

Attention is called to the fact that the short siphon leg members 17 which are arranged on opposite sides of the hollow plunger member 12, as heretofore explained, are connected with the member 12 forward of the center and are arranged at an angle to each other or so that they form oblique angles with the front wall of the tank which they approach closely. By virtue of this arrangement, the plunger is prevented from turning or becoming displaced, to such an extent as to cause the short siphon legs to interfere with the other mechanism of the tank. In other words, if the plunger has a tendency to turn in either direction, one of the short legs 17 will strike the front wall of the tank, thus forming a stop.

The upper extremity of the bell 26 is equipped with an offset flange 28 projecting above the valve seat 25, and forming a shallow well or trap 29 which is filled with water constituting a seal to prevent the possible entrance of air to break the suction necessary for siphoning purposes, in the event that for any reason the gasket 22 should not form a perfect seal where it engages the upper extremity of the bell. It may happen that suflicient foreign matter may be located between the gasket and the bell, to prevent a perfect mechanical seal, whereby enough air would be allowed to enter to break the suction. By forming a trap on the bell extending above the gasket of the plunger, sufficient water may be held to seal the joint between the plunger and the bell long enough to allow the siphoning of the water out of the tankfor flushing purposes, since the flushing action will be accomplished before the water in the trap could leak out through a passage that would immediately break the suction by the admission of air, without the interposition of the water seal. This is considered an important feature of the device since it will oftentimes obviate imperfect working of the mechanism, and render repairs unnecessary, since a particle of foreign matter which might be interposed between the gasket and its seat during one flushing operation, would in all probability be removed by the entrance ofrthe water as soon as the plunger was raised the next time for starting purposes. In other words, by the use of the water seal to temporarily exclude the air during the imperfect seating of the gasket, the continued perfect operation of the mechanism may be assured under circumstances which without the water seal might necessitate frequent repairs.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In a siphon mechanism for low-flushing tanks for closets, the combination with the tank and means for maintaining the normal water level therein near the top of the tank, of a discharge duct of substantially uniform diameter extending vertically through the bottom and up into the tank whereby the effective portion of the duct is extended into the tank and correspondingly lengthened, an extension carried by the duct and forming a continuation thereof of greater cross sectional area and capacity than the duct below the extension, the upper edge of said extension being slightly below the normal water level in the tank, a vertically movable cylindrical member working in said discharge duct extension, and of greater cross sectional area and capacity than said duct below the extension, there being lateral openings in said movable member of a size to admit a volume of water to the extension when the movable member is elevated greater than the capacity of the duct, an annular valve on the outer side of the movable member above the lateral openings adapted to seat on the extension of the discharge duct, and a short siphon leg located bodily at one side of the extension whereby water may flow from the tank directly into the extension, and having its only discharge communicating with the upper portion of the movable member above the lateral openings and its lower entrance end located at a point at all times near the bottom of the tank whereby the starting water directly entering the enlarged duct extension through the lateral openings and the water flowing through the short siphon leg is taken from widely separated points at different levels in the tank.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES FLOCKHART.

WVitnesses:

VIRGINIA I. DAVIS, ELIZABETH BOWEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. O. 

